Forum for Science, Industry and Business

Research team creates new possibilities for medicine and materials sciences

22.01.2018

Bacteria modifying the properties of cellulose

Cellulose produced by plants and bacteria is the most important material of biological origin on the planet. Acting as the main component in plant cell walls, cellulose gives plants their strength and flexibility. Wood, cotton and linen are made up almost exclusively of this material.

Now, the research team headed up by Prof. Dr. Regine Hengge, of the Humboldt-University of Berlin (HU) and her colleague, Prof. Dr. Lynette Cegelski, from Stanford University (California) has discovered that bacteria can not only produce cellulose, but can also chemically modify it using enzymes.

The discovery of this process opens up entirely new prospects: in the fight against diseases, for example. Pathogens such as salmonella modify cellulose in order to bind onto biofilms.

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